Can washer



1951 F. DERBENWICK ET AL 2,538,445

CAN WASHER Filed April 28, 1947 Fen/1K OEQBEHW/cK JAMES F IQYA/Y, JR. NORMA/Y C. CHLHOlJ/Y Juan/mu, KugimPofim/ao'n 4 Sm/mu provided for increasing the spacing between the discs and rings when larger sizedrcans are to be washed. When cans of larger diameter are to I be washed, the spacer rings [3 and M are re- On the inner periphery of the shell I are pro vided a plurality of lugs having vertical holes through them for the reception of cylindrical rods 2|, whose upper portions are threaded and whose upper ends are formed into square. cross sections for the reception of akey torotate the rods. The rods are held in place through the lugs 29, as by means of sleeves 22 and 23, which may be secured to the rods by keys or cotterpins An annular flange or rib 24 rests on the lugs 20 and is held in place by. rods 21 passing through appropriate holes in the flange and by sleeves 23. J On top of sleeve 23 rests a more narrow spacing rib orguide 25, which is also held in place byrods 2|, which pass through holes in. the rib. Another spacing rib or guide 26 has threaded holes for receiving the threaded portions of rods 21'. A top flange 21 also has threaded holes for receiving rods 2|- Lugs 20 are so located as to support flange 24 in the plane of disc member ID and sleeve 23 supports spacing rib 25 in the plane ofspacer ring l3. Spacing rib '26 and top flange 2! are placed on rods 2| in proper axial spacing so' that when the rods are rotated a suficient amount, rib 2G is in the plane of spacer ring 14 and flange-2'! is in the plane of disc l2.

- Disc members Ill and 12. are tapered,.as shown, toward their outer peripheries and flanges 24 and 2'! are tapered toward their inner peripheries for ajaurpose. which will beexplained later.

To adjust the axial distances of spacer ring l4 and disc l2 from the lower disc Ill and spacer ringv l3 when it is desired to adjust these dis.- tances' to accommodatelonger cans in the apparatus nut I, washers l8, disc l2, distance sleeve fl'and spacer ring l4 may be removed from the i..-

shaft and an" appropriate number of washers l8 may be placed on the shaft .at one or both ends of "distance sleeve [6. Whenspacer rings l3 and M of "appropriate diameter are in placev and the distance between them has been suitably ad-, justed' by insertion of the proper number of washers l8, the parts maybe assembled and,

secured. in place by tightening the nut 1, compressing the parts mounted on the shaft between thenut and the flange 8; As hereinbefore mentioned, rib 26 and the flange 21 are adjusted so asto be in the planes of spacer ring [4 and disc l2',,respectively, by rotating the rods 21.

-;",C 1QSB below the disc member l0 and flange 24- is. an arcuate section of pipe, which is con: nected to a source of water or othersuitable cleaning fluid under pressure. The pipe extends a portion of the way around the-periphery of theymemberlll and has in its upper surface a plurality of spaced holes 29, through which water uncler pressure spurts upwardly between disc ll) and flange 24. The holesarepreferably drilled at a small angle to the vertical, as shown in the drawing, so that the water spurts up at such an angle, for a purpose to be explained later. will be readily understood that, in place of the holes 29, spray nozzles of suitable size may be employed. 1 Cans 30 to be washed enter the apparatus from a retr s wn. qm nr. te t eu qili 4 passing around the inside periphery of the washer and being washed, and finally leaving the washer through exit 32 onto a delivery track, not shown. The washer may be provided with an additional section of pipe 33, provided with spaced holes 34 in its upper surface which are similar to holes 29 in. pipe'2 8. 5 Pipe 33 is connected to a suitable source of steam or air under pressure and is positioned below the path of the cans following pipe 28. The purpose of the steam or air blast is to force droplets of water and any remaining particles of dirt from the cans.

Inthe operation of the apparatus of this invention, as the. cans 30 come in the entrance 3!, they are in inverted position so that their open ends are turneddownwardly. The open end rests on one side on the tapered portion of flange 2 1 and on the other side .on the tapered portion of disc member Ill, which is rotated at a suitable speed by shaft 6. The can 36Lis held in radial position on these members by spacer rings l3 and 14 on the, inside and by spacer ribs 25 and 26 on the outside. As the member it rotates on theshaft, by frictional engagement with the edge of the can it causes the can torotate. By having the surfacesof member 3H3 and flange 24 tapered, it hasbeen found that the/cans will be caused to rotate more reliably than if these surfaces were flat. This is true prob-ably because only small, diametrically opposed parts of the cans edge contact the surfaces of member Ill and flange 24 and accordingly the twisting moment on the can is greater than it would .be if the surfaces were fiat, since it is exerted across the full diameter of the can. Also, since the can, is supported only upon small; diametrically opposed parts of its edge, it has less frictional engagement with the supporting surfaces and therefore encounters less resistance to'rotating. The can 3% is, in effect, rolled between themoving surface of member [0 and the fixed surface of flange 25.

It will be readily understood that should the row of cans on the delivery track beyond the exit 32 be stoppedior any reason, no damage will result to the cans or to the washing machine since the cans in thejmachine will not move angularly forward-as member l0 rotates but, instead, will remain stationaryas the member. It slides under them. They may, of course, still rotate but will not move angularly forward. In this manner, there. is no possibility of the cans becoming mashed together when the row beyond. the washer becomes stopped and, correspondingly, there is no mannerin which the parts of the washer itself can become damaged.

When, in passing beyond the inlet 35, a can 3% reach'es a position overthe pipe 28,. not orcold water or othercleaning fluid being used spouts up through holes or nozzles 29 intoQthe can. As previously stated, the holes .jor nozzles'are preferably inclined at a slight angle tothe vertical; such that the spout is directed toward the corner of the can where the bottom is joined to the side: In this way, the'fluid coversjthe entire inner surface of the bottom and of the side wall as the can is rotated and the water drains down the side wall. Thus, all particles of dust, dirt, flux-metal nd.. ..o .r, ic h v ql ee d o a a t .o the interior surface are thoroughly removed and yet less fluid is required to effect the cleaning than in other washers where the spray is directed up centrally and where the can is no manner r0- tated to insure complete coverage of its interior surface by the cleaning fluid. Water draining from the can 39; falls to thebottom2 of the casing and passes :outn'f the casingthrough drainrpipe connection :Should the pressure on the water be great enough to -create a jet suflicien t force, the can 89 be lifted upwardlytofl its seat on member and flange 525 until its bottom is forced against the lower surfaces of disc iiE'and flange 2i. While the can Jill 'is in this elevated position, it still contin-ues to rotate, beingdriven by frictional engagement of its bottom with the lower surfaces of rotating disc l2 and of stationary flange 2?. As in the case :of member l0 and fian el i, the peripheral surface of disc 52 is tapered outwardly and the surface of flange 2? is tapered inwardly so that rotation of the can is caused more effectively that it would be if these'surfaces were horizontaland not tapered. Also, should there be a stoppage movement of the cans on the "tracl; beyond the washer, neither the cans nor the washer will be damaged since the cans will. not be moved angularly forwardly but will remain in place, disc l2 merely sliding across their bottoms as it rotates.

After passing over pipe 28, cans 36 next pass over pipe 33 and are subjected to jets of steam or air from holes 34 which blow from the cans any water remaining in them. The steam or air jets also serve to blast out of the cans any particles or dirt or other debris still remaining in them after the washing.

It is apparent that acan washe made in accordance with this invention accomplishes a thorough washing of cans and yet uses a minimum amount of water in doing so. Its manner of operation is such that stoppages of cans beyond the washer cannot cause the cans or the washer to become damaged. Furthermore, the washer can be readily adapted, by interchanging parts and by making adjustments, to handle cans of different sizes.

It will be appreciated that many modifications can be made of this device and that the specific construction illustrated and described is not the only one of which the'invention is susceptible.

We claim:

1. Apparatus for conveying and rotating cylindrical objects comprising a vertical shaft, circular disc means mounted on the shaft for rotation therewith, a fixed annular flange mounted in the same plane as the disc means and concentrically therewith, said flange having an internal diameter slightly larger than the diameter of the disc means to combine with the disc means to form a surface supporting the cylindrical objects, said disc means tapering towards its outer edge and said flange means tapering towards its inner edge to support the cylindrical objects substantially on the ends of a diameter, ring means mounted on the shaft above the disc means, the distance of the ring means above the disc means being determined by and less than the height of the cylindrical objects, said ring means havin a smaller diameter than the disc means and the outer edge of the ring means having a substantially uniform curvature, annular rib means fixed in aposition above the flange and concentric therewith, the difference in the internal radius of the rib means and the radius of the ring means substantially equalling the diameter of the cylindrical object, and means to rotate the shaft.

2. An apparatus for conveyin and rotating cylindrical objects comprising a vertical shaft, means for rotating the shaft, spaced parallel disc means mounted on said shaft, said disc c anges means being spaced a distance slightly greater than the leng th oft-he cylindrical objects, wing means 0f smaller diameter than the disc :means mounted on :said shaft between the discs for rotation therewith, fixed annular flanges mounted'in the same plane as the disc means :concentric therewith having an inner diameter larger than the diameter of the disc :means, and fixed annular 1% means mounted between the iflange means and concentric therewith, the difference "in the internal radius of the rib means andfithe radius of'the ring means :being .sub- .stantially :equal to the diameter :of the cylindrical objects handled by .the apparatus.

13.. .An apparatus for conveying :and rotating cylindrical objects comprising a vertical shaft, meansfor. rotating the shaft, :spaced parallel :d-isc 'means mounted on said shaft, said disc jbeingispaced .a distance slightly greater than :the length of the cylindrical vobjects, :ring means of smaller diameter than the disc means mounted on said shaft between the discs for rotation therewith, fixed annular flanges mounted in the same plane as the disc means and concentric therewith having an inner diameter larger than the diameter of the disc means, said disc means tapering toward their outer edge and said flanges tapering toward their inner edges to support the cylindrical object substantially on the ends of a diameter.

4. An apparatus for washing containers comprising avertical shaft, vertically spaced hori-' zontal discs mounted thereon for rotation therewith, a flange mounted in a fixed position concentric with each of the discs and. in the same plane therewith to'combine with the disc to form a surface supporting the containers, said discs tapering towards their outer edges and said flanges tapering toward their inner edges, the internal diameter of the flange being slightly larger than the diameter of the disc to form an annular space therebetween, a circular ring mounted on the shaft between the discs for rotation therewith, said ring having a diameter less than the diameter of the discs, a rib mounted in a fixed position between the flanges and concentric therewith, the space between the discs being determined by the height of the containers being washed and the difference in the internal radius of the ribs and the radius of the rings being substantially equal to the diameter of the containers, a conduit under the annular space having openings therein for the discharge of cleaning fluid through the annular space into the containers, and driving means rotating the shaft.

5. An apparatus for washing containers comprising a vertical shaft, vertically spaced horizontal discs mounted thereon for rotation therewith, a flange mounted in a fixed position concentric with each of the discs and in the same plane therewith to combine with the disc to form a surface supporting the containers, said discs tapering towards their outer edges and said flanges tapering toward their inner edges, the internal diameter of the flange bein slightly larger than the diameter of the disc to form an annular space therebetween, the space between the discs being determined by the height of the containers being washed, a conduit under the annular space having openings therein for the discharge of cleaning fluid through the annular space into the containers, and driving means rotating the shaft.

6. An apparatus for washing containers comprising avertical shaft, vertically spaced hori- -zontal discs mounted thereon for rotation there- ;with, a flange mounted in a fixed position conmounted on the shaft between the disc for rotation therewith, said ring having a diameter less than the diameter of the discs, a rib mounted in a fixed position between the flanges and concentric therewith,- the space between the .discs being determined by the height of the containers being washed and the difference in the internal radius of the ribs and the radius of the rings being substantially equal to the diameter of the containers, a conduit under the annular space having openings therein for the discharge of cleaning fluid through the annular space, said openings being inclined to the vertical and directed against the inner wall of the container, and driving means rotating the shaft.

' T FRANK DERBENWICK.

JAMES F. RYAN, JR. NORMAN C. CALHOUN.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Name Date Darling Oct. 23, 1934 Mondloch Dec. 19, 1939 Udell Feb. 10, 1948 Number 

